


Desperate Measures

by UniversePepperland



Series: You Make My Heart Sing [7]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship, aka samantha punches a fiend, and gives lexi a heart attack, if you can't avoid it, use it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10565598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniversePepperland/pseuds/UniversePepperland
Summary: "Oh my god." Liam's voice showed up, his hands to his helmet. "You punched a fiend!""I know.""You fucking punched a FIEND!"





	

Shit. Shit, this was not what she was expecting.Sure she expected the whole 'alien dictators ready to control the galaxy' but she did not expect the revelations of it. She saw angara being turned into kett, she heard their screams, she SAW their bodies contorted and disfigured, saw Jaal's eyes fill with tears.She heard him beg for them not to kill the recently turned kett, but it was no longer angaran, not anymore. Now the three were in the search for the Moshae, Samantha was scanning each pod as Jaal stood somberly to the side, "Hey." Liam's voice was quiet, careful as he approached her, "This...this is really fucked up." he was mindful of his words, sending careful looks towards Jaal who kept looking around the room.

"I know." Samantha whispered back, frowning when the pod was negative to the Moshae's DNA, "I was expecting something bad but this..." she made a sweeping motion across the room, "This is horrendous." she swallowed hard, "Fuck, this places gives me the creeps." the female shuddered, shaking her shoulders before moving to another pod, "I hope the Moshae is alright."

"Me too." Liam said, rubbing his shoulders to get rid of the shivers running up and down his body, "The sooner we kill every bastard here, the better I will be." Samantha nodded to that, continuing to scan the pods. 

"Pathfinder, it seems the Moshae's pod was here moments ago, but it was removed recently."

Samantha scoffed, "Well fuck me with a chainsaw, that's great." she snapped, not really at SAM, "Where to?" she was starting to get more and more unnerved the longer they stayed in one spot. She was boiling in pure rage, only letting out a sigh as SAM told the location, "Alright,moving!" she marched out of the room with a rush, not really caring about making sounds.

She needed to shoot someone.

* * *

They found the Moshae, but they were trapped in the decontamination chamber again, "SAM!" she shouted, "SAM TURN IT OFF!" she growled, eyes wide behind the visor of her helmet, the Moshae looked exhausted and terrified, the kett holding her neck still while it's other hand held the strange looking syringe they used in the other angara. Fuck, this was not good. She couldn't let anything happen to the Moshae!She promised! Her eyes widened when Jaal let out a guttural scream, slamming the butt of his rifle on the decontamination shield, the sound echoing around them.

But then the kett turned around, turning the shield off.It held the Moshae close before flying to the upper ledge "You will not take it!"

Oh.Oh no. Samantha was seeing red now, "No you fucker!You are not taking her." she reloaded her rifle, the soft hissing of new ammo making her smirk. They were going to pay for it. Oh they sure were. They got in the area, using the strange tables and counters against enemy fire, the smell of burning metal stinging her nostrils, "LIAM!" the other human looked up, "I AM GOING TO THE ONE WHO GOT THE MOSHAE!"

"WHAT?"he quickly ducked a plasma shot, hiding behind a table before shooting the Anointed back, the huge brute falling back, "Ryder!It got a shield!" he began, "Normally I'd be up for live taking tactics but I am honestly concerned this time!"

Samantha huffed, slicing a kett Chosen's throat with her omni blade before shooting the one behind it, "Not a chance!I will weaken its shields!" she heard Liam ask 'how' through the violent gunfire, "I need you guys to distract the others for me." she looked at Liam's disbelieving face, giving him a small smirk, "Trust me, it'll work."

Jaal was by Liam's side, he listened to everything.His eyes were furious, but cautious.He listened to Ryder's words with interest, her plan was dangerous but seemed to make sense and it made him surprised she'd want to throw herself towards the Ascendant in hopes to get the Moshae. "Ryder!" he shouted, reloading his rifle, "We'll clear you a path!" he nodded, "May the stars guide you."

Samantha smiled, nodding in appreciation before rushing off from her protected hiding place.It was a zig-zagged pattern all the way to the Ascendant, but she was stubborn, she had a goal and a gun, she planned to use both to her own favor. She hissed when a plasma shot bounced off her shoulder pad, the metal dented and it warmed up her inner suit but she continued.

"Pathfinder, the path to your right is clear. I suggest a biotic jump would be effective to approach the Ascendant unsuspectingly."

She laughed, "I love you SAM." Samantha did as he said. Rushing to the right side with a biotic slide before propelling herself up with her biotics, leaping over the ledge. Her eyes focused on the Cardinal, it was looking for her, the little metallic orb floating around it furiously. "SAM." she whispered, "The little ball, does it control the shields?"

"Yes, Pathfinder."

She smirked, aiming her rifle "Good to know." she shot it every time it came to her line of sight.Of course that by doing that it called the Cardinal's attention, the kett's head snapped towards the direction of the shots, "Fools!" Cardinal screamed, teleporting closer to Samantha "You are all fools to-"

"Shut up." she snarled, her fist glowing blue. Her fist hit the ground so hard it dented the floor, exploding the Cardinal's shield making orb into pieces. The Cardinal was dazed, her eyes were wide in shock, "Surprise bitch," Samantha smirked, "Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me." the bullets now entered the Cardinal's body. The creature was not expecting anything this bold, letting out a scream when Samantha's bullets perforated her body.

It wasn't long until another little ball formed, making Samantha's eyes widen, "SHIT!" she slid to the opposite side, standing close to the moshae as the Cardinal regained her shields. The Pathfinder looked to the Moshae's tired eyes, biting her lower lip, "We'll take you out of here, I promise." the Moshae said nothing, only watched as this alien creature rushed to the other side, the Cardinal following it.

"You've angered me you pitiful creature!" the Kett shouted, "I will not allow you to disrupts our operations!" there was a 'pfft' sound coming from behind a crate.The Cardinal saw the glint of a visor, a sniper rifle appearing, the nose burning a bright red.

"Wanna bet?" Incendiary rounds. The ball exploded in minutes. again the Cardinal was shocked, being taken aback."Aww, did you lost track of your superior monolog, sunshine?" Samantha laughed, her laugh loud and mocking, echoing around the room, "Maybe you should relax for a bit."

Another shot and it made the Cardinal fall down.It writhed and groaned, bright green blood seeping from the wounds. Samantha was breathing hard, leaning against a crate as she looked at her rifle, "Shit," she clicked her tongue, "Out of bullets." she placed the rifle on her back again, rushing to the Moshae's side.The woman was still on the ground, tired but her eyes were shocked, "Hey, sorry for taking so long in picking you up." she said, smiling, "I'm Ryder."

The Moshae only stared, Jaal quickly appearing to her side, wrapping her arm around his shoulder for support. She was surprised at how casual this 'Ryder' was being, her 'I don't know the rules yet' line made the angara woman fight back a small smile, "We need to leave this place, the Archon, he-"

 

"You fools." they heard, the Cardinal was limping towards them, "I applaud you, Pathfinder," it spat her title with venom, some bright green blood dribbling down her chin, "You do not know the privileges of being chosen for exaltation. You do not know the change it will make to this cluster!"

Samantha sneered, her eyes furious at the Cardinal's words. "Oh yeah?Except I am going to. Fuck.Your.Shit.Up. How is that for a change?" she was close to the cardinal, her helmet was off, her nose barely touching the Kett's face and she was sure the creature _trembled_ "Tell your boss he needs a new hobby." she scoffed, "SAM, do we have something to destroy this place to smithereens?

"Yes, Pathfinder.But by doing so, we will kill any remaining living angara in the facility." Samantha's eyes widened. Well shit. The Moshae made it clear they should explode the facility, Samantha couldn't blame her, the woman was tortured in this place for so long. Jaal's voice however, he begged, he told her 'you promised to keep my people safe'.She bit her lower lip, she didn't want to make the Moshae upset, but certainly didn't want anyone else to die in here.

"Wait." the Cardinal began, her hands up in defense, "Please, I will free any of the specimens but leave my facility intact." Samantha squinted her eyes suspiciously, "Let me continue my research and I will let them go."

She paused.Let the facility continue?

"Pathfinder,please." the Moshae begged, but Jaal interrupted.

"We need to save our people, the facility can be destroyed later.I will personally lead the attack." he pleaded, then looked at Ryder. Samantha sighed heavily, her gloved fingers pinching the bridge of her nose as the options weighed down her brain.

"Fucking hell,fine!" she shouted, "Release the Angara."

"Thank you." the Cardinal began.

"Don't thank me yet, sunshine." Samantha snarled, pressing her comm link, "Guys?We need a shuttle. And take as many angara survivors you can." she said, nodding over to Liam and Jaal, ignoring the Moshae's deathly glare as the three walked out.

"Thank you,Pathfinder." she turned her head slowly towards the kett, "I am glad you see the importance of exaltation in this cluster."

Samantha's eyes widened, her hand instantly going to her pistol, "Not fucking likely." one shot to the temple and the Cardinal fell down limp. She looked down at the creature's twitching body, shooting it again just to make sure it'd stay dead, "Fucking jerk."

The winds outside were ruthless, her helmet's visor was covered with snow in minutes, "Damn it!We need to get to the shuttle!Where is it?"

"Sorry,Pathfinder, we need to wait until the winds slow down a bit. It won't take long but you need to go to the landing pad on the other side." the pilot's voice made Samantha groan. Great. Just great. She shook her head, nodding towards the small group before they walked as fast as they could.

They paused when they heard the sounds of bullets, Samantha quickly stepped in front of the Moshae "God damn it!" she began, using her rifle's scope to look through the thick layer of falling snow, "How many of them are there?" she was starting to get anxious again, they had to take the Moshae away and safely!And everything was going against their favor!

"Quick!" she heard the Moshae say, "Stay with me!" a shield globe surrounded them.It looked like biotics but she assumed it was electrostatic considering she felt the hair in her arms stand up. Jaal opposed to the Moshae's interference, she needed to regain her strength "Nonsense!We need to make it to the opposite side!"

She liked the Moshae already. It was incredibly easier to approach the landing zone, the kett were mostly Chosen and Anointed, now they just had to wait for the shuttle, "How long till you guys get here?"

"About five minutes!" the pilot' voice was muffled, the snow making the transmission difficult, "Hold in there,Pathfinder!"

Samantha groaned, "Welp, gotta wing it everyone!Wait until we get a shuttle-" she saw another wave of kett approaching, guns blazing and three gigantic figures making their way over.Fiends. For fucking sake why fiends?Why not Wraiths or maybe some sort of Kett Hamster?Why FIENDS? "Jesus H. Christ, okay...everyone got ammo?" she asked, checking her own rifle.

"Yeah." Liam said.

"Positive," Jaal responded.

"Good." she took a shuddering breath, "Make sure they don't get close to the Moshae!" and soon it started. The gunfire was mostly muffled by the winds, but the lights coming from the kett rifles and their own rifles reflected against the snowflakes, giving it an eerie like illumination.She started to count down the time while shooting the targets, they still had about three minutes until the shuttle arrived. One, two, three. The kett fell like domino pieces, leaving three very angry fiends around the area.

One of them was shot down by the three of them, the other was shot before Samantha exploded a gas canister next to it but the last one disappeared when the wind got thicker.Samantha got closer to the Moshae, her gun clicking signaling she was out of ammo, "Shit." she cursed quietly.

"Pathfinder?" the Moshae asked, "Is everything alright?"

Samantha sighed, "Yes,ma'am, just some minor-" there was a roar nearby, but it was hard to figure out where.The wind became slower, the snowflakes dissipated and she could see the massive fiend approaching the Moshae from behind, walking up the steps.She widened her eyes, her gaze going from her gun to the fiend's head, "Shit," she looked back to the Moshae, watching the Angara woman slowly turn her head horrified.

Liam and Jaal shot the creature, but nothing worked.It was now about to stand on its full height, ready to attack.She was out of bullets, what could she do? She frowned, looking at the electric field surrounding them.

Biotics.

If she could change the target of her Nova, maybe she could make the fiend stop. "Pathfinder." SAM began, "I would advise to not do that, while your biotics are strong, you will damage your hand's bone structure."

"Not a choice." she growled, her fist glowing blue again.Everything moved in slow motion, the fiend stood to it's full height. Liam and Jaal shouted, the Moshae gasped and then...Samantha's fist connected to the fiend's jaw. The biotics pulsed inside her veins, the sudden impact of the fiend's hard face spread an unbearable pain across her hand down her elbow, it was numbing to a point she felt her bones buzz. Her eyes clenched in agony, but she heard something cracking, she had no idea if it was her hand or the fiend's face.

The creature's face exploded at the biotic attack, it's mandible mangled open before it tumbled to the ground. Time got back to normal, along with the shock of pain in her arm, "Fuck." she whispered, dropping her rifle, her unbruised hand holding the other to her chest, "Fuck.FUCK!" she wheezed, curling over herself as her left hand twitched in pain, she could feel it pulsating all over her hand.

"Oh my god." Liam's voice showed up, his hands to his helmet. "You punched a fiend!"

"I know."

"You fucking punched a FIEND!"

"Fuck LIAM I KNOW!" she screamed, tears falling down her eyes, "Where is the fucking shuttle???" she wanted to fall to her knees and hold her hand close, the cold weather only made the pain worse. As if on cue the shuttle appeared, she turned to the Moshae, the woman was shocked yet again by her antics along with Jaal who held her arm. 

"Pathfinder." the Moshae began, but Samantha shook her head.

"No, let's just go.Let's just fucking leave." they entered the shuttle in silence, the only sounds were Samantha's constant hissing and the Moshae's slow breathing.Liam looked over at her hand, letting out a pained hiss of his own.

"Lexi is not going to like it."

Samantha let out a pained laugh, "I know."

* * *

The Moshae was the priority, so Samantha let the female Angara enter the med bay first. She was still breathing hard through her nose to control the pain. She had to calm down, it was a bad situation, she was out of ammo, the Moshae was going to die if she didn't act.Repeating it over and over made her calm down, rehearsing would be easier to tell Lexi.

She was sure Jaal commented about it while in the med bay, because a loud,shrieked 'WHAT' made Samantha's eyes clench.Soon stomping footsteps were near the door, sliding open to reveal a very angry Lexi, "Let me see your hand."

"Before you give me a speech,I-"

**"Now,Ryder."**

Samantha winced, letting Lexi drag her into the Med Bay, sitting her in one of the beds as she unbuckled Samantha's arm piece.The Pathfinder hissed when the Med Bay's cool air hit her uncovered hand.under it was her inner suit, the mix of metal and flexible military fiber seemed to keep everything in place so far. But it looked swollen.Fuck it looked as if it doubled in size. 

Lexi sent her a glare, to which Samantha gave a sheepish smile.Jaal and the Moshae watched, seeing the Asari doctor cut open the inner suit and pull out the glove. Under there it was a mess of purple and reds.Her hand was swollen, as it would be, blotched with a very reddish purple bruise on her knuckles and fingers, her wrist has been circled with a large bruise, as thick as her forefinger "Oh my Goddess." Lexi said, astounded, "What the bloody hell,Ryder?!"

Samantha was silent, her eyes to the side in shame.She couldn't say anything really, it hurt and everything she rehearsed seconds ago was lost, "Sorry." she whispered, her voice meek and quiet. Lexi shook her head, scanning the Pathfinder's arm. She felt a bit uneasy with Jaal and the Moshae there, but stood quiet, letting Lexi run her diagnosis.

"You broke your wrist." Lexi said, "And part of your arm." 

Samantha frowned, looking at her, "I was out of ammo-"

"It was reckless.You know your biotics aren't as strong to kill a fiend and yet you do it anyway!" Lexi said, not really caring of the two angara watching them, "You remember the first time you got here?You CHARGED into one of them,Samantha!"

"I know but-"

"You can't go on with this!It's immature." Samantha snapped her mouth shut, "...you can't act as if you are unbreakable. You are not immortal or impervious to bullets." Lexi sighed, rubbing her eyes, "I...I need to fix your arm."

Lexi walked to the other side of the room as Samantha looked at her unbruised hand. She was ashamed.Her cheeks were burning in embarrassment, 'she is right' a tiny voice in her head said 'you are not immortal' making her sigh loudly. There was an awkward silence between the four people in the room, but Jaal was the first to break it.

"Doctor." he began, "Ryder saved the Moshae." his voice was firm, "I understand her actions were reckless but she had no other option.She was out of bullets and me and Liam were too far away to lend her any."

Samantha looked up in surprise, her eyes focused on Jaal's back as he looked at the asari Doctor, "Ryder is a hero." that made Samantha blush in another way. 

Lexi sighed loudly, rubbing her forehead before she approached Samantha again, spreading a thick layer of ointment on Samantha's arm, before wrapping it up with a bandage, "I see." her eyes moved to the human's, softened a tiny bit, "Well, after that I think I went over the top with the scolding." Lexi sighed, placing a hand on Samantha's shoulder, "But do not do it again, alright Ryder?"

She knew why she said that.Her father, Scott...'we can't lose another Ryder' she meant. Samantha nodded curtly, her silence was much of an affirmation as any words would be, the asari doctor seemed satisfied, "Now scoot, both of you, the Moshae needs to rest." she began, pushing both Jaal and Samantha out of the med bay "She will answer your questions later, Samantha.Now rest and do NOT use your arm."

The door closed, leaving both outside staring at their reflection in the sleek metal surface. The female let out a breath, "That was...worse than I expected." she ended it with a laugh, looking at the cast on her arm, "Thank goodness I am ambidextrous." she felt Jaal's confused stare more than saw, "I can use both hands to shoot."

"That is quite a talent."

"Yeah." she shrugged "I guess."

Jaal paused, looking to the floor then at her, "You are upset.Ashamed." she flinched, avoiding his gaze by staring to the side, "I agree with you."

Her eyebrows furrowed, "What?"

His arms were behind his back, making his shoulders seem wider than they actually were, "You acted on instinct more than mind.I know how that must be, it can be difficult and people might not always understand." he saw her nod silently, "But you did something wonderful today and..." his tone went up to awe, "What you did was extraordinary.I've seen you using your...biotics, before but never to this extent. It was beautiful."

She snorted a laugh, blushing brightly, "You make it seem as if I am some sort of special find of some sort."

"But you are." he sounded sincere and almost hurt, "You are a special find. Your strength and beauty in combat is something to be in awe of."

Letting out an embarrassed little laugh, she ran her fingers through her hair, covering half of her face to shield those vibrant blue orbs away "Thanks...that's um...that's nice to hear." 

"You are welcome." he said, smiling to himself, "I believe you are going to rest now?Dr.T'Perro told you to not use your arm." his hand fell on her shoulder.Warm, gentle, friendly but his thumb carefully rubbed the shoulder pad, "You would not like to defy her orders." he began, "Again." he added with a little smirk.

Was he teasing her?

"I am not a sadist." she said, seeing his eyes turn confused, "I will explain it to you another day.Promise." she said, turning to her quarters, "Thanks for...helping me in there."

"You've proven to be a reliable ally, I had no intention to lie about your involvement in saving the Moshae." he said with a smile, "You put yourself at risk more than once for my people and I deeply appreciate that...just don't break any more bones doing so."

She laughed at that, his smile widened and his pupils dilated a little bit. It was a sound he had never heard it up close, she mostly laughed with Vetra or Liam or Peebee and he often heard it through walls or behind doors, but hearing it with her so close.Her head thrown back and mouth curved in a wide smile, the sides of her cheeks denting as she did so, "I am glad I made you smile after what happened."

Samantha sputtered, blushing again, "Yeah." she said, "Me too." the two stared at each other for a little while before turning on her heel towards her quarters. Jaal watched when she looked over her shoulder at him, waving her unbruised hand before the door closed.

He felt very warm after that.His smile remained while he kept a look on the Moshae, making the female angara arch one eye ridge before laughing fondly, shaking her head.

**Author's Note:**

> Samantha Indrani Ryder has no fear and will use her bare hands to kill you.
> 
> If this seems weird or anything lemme know alright?I kinda write these on impulse so there might be some mistakes?
> 
> Comments and Kudos are love!<3


End file.
